JPod
by Douglas Coupland
(Bloomsbury)
Nobody writes about the dysfunctional family better than Canada’s Douglas Coupland. His new novel, JPod, is a perfect example.
Ethan is a computer game programmer who works at JPod, his mother grows copious amounts of class-A marijuana in her basement, his father, a struggling actor awaiting his coveted first speaking role, is addicted to ballroom dancing and his brother, Gregg, is a real estate mogul whose best mate, Kam Fong, is the head of a people-smuggling ring.
The plot loosely revolves around the six programmers in JPod who are in the middle of designing a skateboarding game. Fantastic characters — such as John Doe, the computer programmer who grew up in a lesbian commune and is now on a quest to be statistically normal to counteract his wacko upbringing — will have you laughing out loud. John’s favourite office snack is M&Ms, a choice that is based on statistics about the items most commonly eaten out of hotel mini-bars.
JPod reads like a film and, although Coupland’s characters are incredibly eccentric and amusing, the plot or lack of one means the book tends to drag near the end. When it begins with the line, “Oh God. I feel like a refugee from a Douglas Coupland novel”, you may chuckle. When the characters start discussing the similarities between Melrose Place and Generation X, Coupland’s debut novel, it’s amusing to say the least. However, when Coupland introduces himself as a character in his own novel, it falls extremely flat.
I only recommend this book to hardcore Coupland fans; novices would be better served starting with Generation X, Girlfriend in a Coma or All Families are Psychotic.